J&J Discloses Government Investigations of Hips, Mesh

Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Johnson & Johnson, the world’s
largest seller of health-care products, disclosed separate
government investigations into possible false claims related to
its hip devices and the marketing of its surgical mesh.

The U.S. Justice Department requested documents relating to
whether J&J’s DePuy unit may have submitted false claims to
federal health-care programs over its ASR XL hip devices, which
were recalled in August 2010, the company said today in a
regulatory filing. California is leading a multistate
investigation into the marketing of surgical mesh, J&J said.

J&J, based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, said it’s “fully
cooperating” with the Justice Department’s civil division and
the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts after getting an
informal request in August about the marketing and use of the
hips.

“The government is investigating whether any person or
entity submitted or caused to be submitted false claims or false
statements affecting federal health-care programs in connection
with the marketing and use of the ASR XL hip device,” according
to the filing. “The government has since made additional
informal requests for the production of documents.”

10,000 Lawsuits

More than 10,000 lawsuits are pending in the U.S. over the
ASR hips, which claim J&J defectively designed the device and
failed to warn of possible problems. J&J recalled 93,000
worldwide after saying 12 percent failed in the U.K. The first
lawsuit to go to trial is under way in state court in Los
Angeles.

California’s attorney general contacted J&J in October
regarding a probe of the marketing of mesh products for hernia
and urogynecological purposes, J&J said. That probe involves 42
states, the company said.

J&J faces at least 1,800 lawsuits over its Gynecare Prolift
vaginal mesh implant used to shore up pelvic muscles. The first
of those cases has gone to trial in state court in Atlantic
City, New Jersey, where a jury will enter its fourth day of
deliberations today.

In August, J&J stopped selling four mesh devices in the
U.S., including Prolift. The company said in June that it would
end sales worldwide because of the products’ lack of commercial
viability, and not based on their safety and effectiveness.